Hemmerich's No-Hitter Highlights NSU Sweep of Coppin State
NORFOLK, Va. - After coming oh-so-close to no-hitters in his each of his last two starts, Norfolk State sophomore left hander Devin Hemmerich achieved the elusive feat Sunday in a 6-1 victory over visiting Coppin State in game one of the teams' doubleheader at Marty L. Miller Field. The Spartans won game two by the same 6-1 score to sweep their final MEAC Northern Division series of the season.
Hemmerich (4-3) threw the program's first no-hitter in the Division I era and fifth in school history to help the Spartans (23-13, 19-5 MEAC North) end their conference schedule in style. The Spartans' last no-hitter came on March 12, 1996, when John Coles (five innings) and Matthew Hemmis (one inning) combined to blank St. Paul's in a 39-0, six-inning win.
Hemmerich walked the game's lead-off hitter, Colin Dower, who then stole second. Dower took third on a groundout and alertly took off for home when the NSU defense turned its back on him following the putout at first. Dower slid in safely ahead of the throw home to get the Eagles on the board.
CSU's only other baserunners came on a fourth-inning error by the Spartan infield, and when Dower was hit by a Hemmerich pitch in the sixth. Hemmerich recorded two strikeouts in a perfect 1-2-3 seventh, fanning George Dragon swinging to finish off the no-hitter. The strikeout was Hemmerich's 10th of the game, matching his career high.
Sunday was Hemmerich's MEAC-leading fifth complete game of the season. Two weeks ago, he pitched a two-hit shutout against CSU where both hits were infield singles. Last week, he went 6.2 innings in a seven-inning game without allowing a hit before UMES managed a triple and won the game 1-0.
In the nightcap Sunday, Stephen Butt (4-1) earned the win in game two, allowing one run and three hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out three while lowering his season ERA to 2.17. Jeff Di Fulgo, Lane Ward, Jonathan Mauricio and Corey Haynes each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
Mikey Bruno (2-for-2), Troy Applin (2-for-3) and Omar Hotusing (2-for-4) had two hits apiece in the nightcap. Rosario finished the doubleheader 3-for-6 with three RBI, while Hall added three hits and two RBI on the day.
The Spartans, winners of 17 of their last 20, continue their seven-game homestand on Tuesday when they host VCU at 5 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.coppinstatesports.com
Hornets walk-off with Senior Day win over Hawks
DOVER, Del. --- David Kimbrough drew a bases loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Delaware State to a 5-4 MEAC North win over UMES in the Hornets’ final regular season finale at Soldier Field.
DSU led 4-2 entering the ninth inning, but UMES scored two runs off the Hornet bullpen in the top of the inning to tie the game. Greg Turlik homered with one out for the first in the ninth and Conner Breslin singled in the tying run for the Hawks.
Jaylen Zielecki drew a walk from UMES reliever Devin Repine to lead off the Delaware State ninth. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Torres and moved to third on a ground out by Sam Barber. Repine then walked Devin Beverly and issued an intentional pass to Charles Dailey to load the bases for Kimbrough. Repine’s 3-2 pitch to Kimbrough was high and inside, forcing in Zielecki with the winning run.
Zielecki retired the first 15 UMES batters before Quenton Hamrick doubled to lead off the sixth inning. He struck out a career high 12 batters before being relieved with one out in the seventh. He struck out the side in the second inning and fanned two in the first, third and fourth.
Repine (0-2) suffered the loss for the Hawks.
DSU won two of the three games in the weekend series to end the regular season with a 14-27 overall record and 13-11 mark in the MEAC. The Hawks fell to 16-30 and 14-10.
The Hornets will return to action in the 2015 MEAC Tournament May 13 to 16 at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury. Md.
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.umeshawks.com
Florida A&M wins MEAC Southern Division title with doubleheader sweep
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Florida A&M (19-23, 15-9 MEAC) won the MEAC Southern Division title for the first time since 1997 after sweeping North Carolina A&T (9-36, 6-17 MEAC) by scores of 4-2 & 8-3 on Sunday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium.
Winning the Division allows FAMU to have a First Round bye in next week’s MEAC Baseball Tournament. The two wins on Sunday helped the Rattlers set a program record with 15 MEAC wins this season after previously setting the record with 14 in 2014. Marlon Gibbs went 4-for-8 with a run scored, while Michael Birdsong was 3-for-6 with three runs scored on the day.
FAMU reliever Kendal Weeks (4-2) worked 3 1/3 innings and allowed just one run on four hits with four strikeouts in game one. Cleveland Westbrook gave up just one unearned run and just one hit over the final 3 1/3 innings for his first save of the season. Game two starter Ryan Anderson (1-3) picked up his first win of the season after allowing just one run on five hits over 5 2/3 innings. Anderson had one strikeout and two walks.
North Carolina A&T State game one starter Mitchell McQueen (0-3) allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits in four innings of work with one strikeout and one walk.
In game two FAMU came out hot with five runs in the top of the first inning for a quick 5-0 lead.
Charles Cantrell (0-7), who started game two for the Aggies, recorded just two outs in the first inning and allowed five runs (two earned) on four hits with one walk for the loss.
Florida A&M will conclude the regular season on Wednesday, May 6 at Troy. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com or www.ncataggies.com
Wildcats come up short at Savannah State
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Despite a valiant ninth-inning comeback attempt, Bethune-Cookman was unable to erase a five-run deficit late in the game, as the Wildcats fell to Savannah State, 6-5 in the rubber match of a three-game series at Tiger Field on Sunday. With the loss, the Wildcats drop their third consecutive MEAC series.
Entering Sunday’s affair with a chance to win the Southern Division of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Bethune-Cookman needed a win in its final conference game of the season in order to keep the dream of holding the top spot in the MEAC Championships alive.
Zach McCormack (4-2) collected the win for SSU, going the distance with five runs allowed (four earned) on nine hits. He struck out five and walked two.
The loss went to Alex Seibold, dropping his record at 4-5 on the year. He worked 4.1 frames, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits allowed, striking out two and walking a pair.
The Wildcats offense was paced by Demetrius Sims, Nathan Bond, Jameel Edney and Jake Welch with two hits apiece. Bond would plate a pair, while Sims scored twice.
The Wildcats will conclude the 2015 regular season with a pair of nationally-ranked foes in South Florida, beginning with Florida Atlantic on Tuesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m. The following day, the Cats face the Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.ssuathletics.com
Eagles bested by Duke in doubleheader
DURHAM, N.C. – After five games on the road, North Carolina Central University’s baseball team finally returned to Durham to play its final two road games of the year at Duke University on Sunday, May 3. The Blue Devils picked up the doubleheader sweep over the Eagles by winning game one 6-1, and game two by a score of 10-3.
The Duke pitching staff commanded game two of the doubleheader as well, as Bailey Clark turned in a quality start that kept the Eagles off the board, and mainly off the bases. Clark went six complete innings and was reached for just two hits, and struck out four without walking a batter until his final inning of work.
Offensively, the Blue Devils were efficient, racking up 10 runs on 15 hits through the eight necessary innings. NCCU didn’t ease up as the Eagles broke up the shutout while sending nine batters to the plate in the top of the ninth. Chrisitan Triplett notched his team leading 13th double of the year to open the inning before Devin Sweet cashed in with an RBI double to put the Eagles on the board. James Dey pushed in a run on a groundout and Trevor Theissen followed with an RBI base knock to put the third and final run on the board for NCCU.
The Eagles will finish the season with three consecutive home games, starting with Presbyterian College on Tuesday, May 5 and Campbell University for Senior Day on Wednesday, May 6, with both games scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. The final game of the regular season will be on Saturday, May 9 as the Eagles make up a postponed game with North Carolina A&T State, with a trip to the playoffs on the line for NCCU.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com